1. Invention
This invention relates, generally, to garment hangers and, more particularly, to molded plastic hangers and clips for use therewith.
2. Prior Art
Commercially available hangers are made of wood, metal, and plastic. Frequently, plastic hangers can be made relatively inexpensively compared to wooden hangers, are substantially more durable than wire hangers.
Conventional, commercially available, plastic hangers commonly comprise a plastic body portion and a metal hook. The hook may be secured to the body to enable the body to swivel with respect to the hook. Examples of hanger structures including a plastic body and a metal suspending hook are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,406,883 (Crane); 3,282,481 (Maxwell); and 3,407,979 (Patch).
All-plastic garment hangers are also commercially available and many have been disclosed in the patent literature. Examples of hangers formed entirely of a plastic material are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,067,917 (Reller, et al); 3,116,860 (Urich); 3,209,966 (Wach); 3,463,369 (Moskowitz); 3,570,729 (Zuckerman); 3,897,893 (Lemmenes); and 3,973,705 (Erthein).
All-plastic hangers having swivel hooks are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,963,154 (Schwartz, et al); 4,040,546 (Liebscher) and 4,074,838 (Blasnik, et al).
Conventional garment hangers also frequently include one or more pinch-type clips arranged to be located at various positions along a crossbar to hold trousers or skirts on the hanger. Examples of such hangers are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,378,578 (Oskow); 2,496,531 (Gray); 2,546,717 (Beetlestone, et al) 2,617,568 (Pechtel) and 3,950,829 (Cohen).
While the plastic hangers noted above do achieve Various design goals, such hangers nevertheless suffer from one or more drawbacks, such as complexity of construction, difficulty of assembly, limited utility, limited durability and ruggedness, and the like.